Not so ugly – Southend country rockers’ “Best Of” record is an enjoyable dash through the band’s back catalogue.
The Ugly Guys have been together for some 22 years, during which time they have released seven albums. Based in Southend, their music is described as cosmic americana music, in fact the band’s 2007 debut release carried this description as its title. The band came into being after singer Paul Shuttleworth and Vic Collins who plays pedal steel, bumped into each other on a petrol station forecourt in 2003; the pair had played together since 1969, when they formed the country rock band Cow Pie. From 1972 they had played in pub rock group Kursaal Flyers, an outfit that achieved chart success with the 1976 single release ‘Little Does She Know‘ (produced by Mike Batt of The Wombles fame), which reached #14 in the UK singles chart. After a career spanning four studio albums and a live record, the band split in late 1977.
At their chance meeting on the petrol station forecourt, Shuttleworth and Collins’ discussion turned to how they missed playing the country music that they both loved. They decided to look into forming a new band, with the intention of playing cover versions (as was the case originally with the Kursaal Flyers). After recruiting guitarist Steve Oliver (formerly of Ipsissimus and Jerry the Ferret), Shuttleworth and Collins set about recruiting other musicians; namely local drummer Bob Clouter (Mickey Jupp, The Lew Lewis Band, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack) and Mike Steed (formerly of goth rockers Flesh For Lulu).
The fledgling band became The Ugly Guys, being named after a Kursaal Flyers song ‘Ugly Guys‘.
Starting off true to their original intention, the band’s early output was restricted to cover versions, releasing two LPs in 2007; “Cosmic American Music” the band’s debut, and “Truckers Kickers & Cowboy Angels“, described as “a tribute to the music and influence of Gram Parsons“. It wasn’t until 2010 and the third LP, that the band mixed in some of their own compositions on “The Road Goes On Forever“.
Over the 22 year period, the band’s line up has remained relatively stable apart the position of bass player, with Steed departing for pastures new (most recently appearing as a member of The Kinks tribute band the The Kast Off Kinks), after playing on “Cosmic American Music“. Steed’s role was taken by Andy Farrell, formerly of Southend blues rock band The Hamsters. Farrell remained until 2018 when he quit the group to concentrate on teaching, to be replaced by Nevil Kiddier from power pop group The Pinkees.
“Still Kickin’ – The Best of The Ugly Guys” comprises of 17 tracks, 11 of which were written by band members, plus a rather different version of ‘Little Does She Know‘ which was co-written by Shuttleworth, alongside Kursaal Flyers bandmates Will Birch and Graeme Douglas. It also includes a version of Mickey Jupp’s ‘I Should Be Loving This’, which is set to feature on the next The Ugly Guys record. In addition, there are covers of songs written by Adele, Bob Dylan and Toby Keith, plus another Kursaal Flyers number (the aforementioned ‘Ugly Guys‘).
The record is topped and tailed by Kursaal Flyers songs; ‘Ugly Guys‘ and ‘Little Does She Know‘ respectively. In both cases the presentations are sufficiently different from the original version, to make covering the song a worthwhile exercise; in particular ‘Little Does She Know‘ has been transformed, being played in a bluegrass style.
‘A Step Too Far‘, an Oliver composition, sees Oliver take the lead vocal. It’s a song that you could easily see fitting on a Ronnie Lane solo record. While ‘Rolling in the Deep‘, the Adele song, starts with a riff that reminds you of Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene‘, and soon settles into a relatively gentle country rock song. ‘Plains of Mexico‘ has a very Mexican sound to it; featuring prominent acoustic guitar.
The LP is a good listen; there’s a mix of song types, which are all given The Ugly Guys treatment. The playing is of a high quality and Shuttleworth’s vocals are good; his voice being a little reminiscent of Lukas Nelson’s. Particular highlights on the record include ‘Neil Young in the Dark‘, ‘Wrong Side of Memphis‘ and ‘Fragrance on the Wind‘.
A long time coming